King Kamehameha

May 15

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In the heart of the Pacific, a warrior danced with destiny to unify a fragmented realm. King Kamehameha the Great, a figure as complex and commanding as the Hawaiian islands he would come to rule. From his daring conquests to his political brilliance, this episode unravels the myth and the man, set against a backdrop of gods, warriors, colonialism, and the unstoppable forces of nature.

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The Titan of Hawaiian History

King Kamehameha the Great isn’t just a figure from the dusty pages of history books; he is a towering legend, whose ambitions and achievements resonate through the Hawaiian Islands like the rumble of a distant volcano. Known for his pivotal role in unifying the islands, his saga is a vibrant canvas of prophecy, power, and political savvy. This article dives deep into the thrilling exploits of Kamehameha, exploring his strategies, his battles, and the indelible mark he left on Hawaiian culture and governance.

The Prophecy and Early Years

Born Under a Star of Greatness

In the tempestuous period of Hawaiian history, a baby was born, destined to change the islands forever. His birth, surrounded by omens and marked by the stars, was prophesized to herald the rise of a great leader who would unite the Hawaiian Islands. This sense of destiny fueled every step of his rise to power.

Secrecy and Survival: From his earliest days, Kamehameha’s life was shrouded in secrecy. To shield him from those threatened by his destined greatness, he was spirited away to be raised in the hidden folds of the islands. These formative years, steeped in the lore and warrior skills of his ancestors, sculpted Kamehameha into a leader of unmatched resilience and vision.

*This Kamehameha statue stands in front of Aliʻiōlani Hale (home to the Hawaiʻi State Supreme Court) across from* ‘*Iolani palace*.

Clash of Cultures: Captain Cook’s Arrival

When Worlds Collide

The year 1778 marked a seismic shift for Hawaii with the arrival of Captain James Cook. This wasn’t merely a meeting of East and West; it was a collision of worlds. Cook’s ships, bearing strange flags and even stranger men, brought with them a mix of marvel and menace, forever altering the course of Hawaiian history.

Echoes of Change: Cook’s arrival introduced firearms, iron, and foreign diseases, but also concepts of global politics and trade. Kamehameha, a keen observer, quickly grasped these new tools and ideas, weaving them into his strategy to craft a new future for his people.

Leadership and Vision: Uniting the Islands

A Conqueror’s Chess Game

The quest to unify the Hawaiian Islands was no reckless charge into battle; it was a masterful game of strategy, alliances, and decisive strikes. Kamehameha’s campaigns were marked by bold maneuvers and shrewd negotiations, ensuring his legend grew with every island that fell under his sway.

Innovations in Warfare: Adopting Western military technology, Kamehameha turned cannons and muskets into instruments of change. These tools did not merely bring destruction but also order, as they were pivotal in his successful sieges and battles across the archipelago.

The Battle of Moku'ohai: The First Test of Power

Triumph Through Turmoil

The Battle of Moku'ohai was a decisive conflict that tested Kamehameha's mettle as a leader and warrior. Fought on the rugged terrains of the Big Island, this battle pitted Kamehameha against rival chiefs in a fierce struggle for supremacy. His victory here not only solidified his status as a formidable leader but also marked the beginning of his ascendancy in Hawaiian politics and warfare.

Strategic Mastery: Kamehameha's use of terrain and his understanding of his opponents' tactics showcased his superior strategic thinking. This battle was crucial in demonstrating his capability to lead and inspire his warriors, setting the stage for future conquests.

Trade and Diplomacy: The Tools of Empire

Navigating New Waters

Kamehameha was not only a warrior but also a savvy diplomat and trader. Recognizing the potential of the new global connections brought by European ships, he engaged in active trade, exchanging Hawaiian sandalwood and other local goods for valuable foreign technology and weapons. This not only boosted the Hawaiian economy but also strengthened his military capabilities.

Diplomatic Engagements: By forging alliances with European traders and other Pacific leaders, Kamehameha expanded his influence far beyond the Hawaiian Islands, ensuring his kingdom a place in the wider global context of the 18th and 19th centuries.

Governance: A Rule of Brutality and Compassion

The Dual Edges of Power

Kamehameha’s rule was an intricate balance of harsh realities and visionary policies. His reign was stern, marked by the swift quelling of rebellion, yet also enlightened, as seen in his landmark legal reforms that protected the common people.

The Law of the Splintered Paddle: Born from an incident on the battlefield, this law exemplifies Kamehameha’s complex legacy. It guaranteed safety to those who did not bear arms, embedding a sense of justice in Hawaiian law that outlived his reign.

On November 24, 1816, artist Louis Choris painted "Tammeamea" aboard the Rurik in Kailua Bay. He later altered the portrait of Kamehameha posthumously in 1822, known as "Kamehameha, King of Sandwich Islands," kept at Honolulu Museum of Art.

Cultural Impact and Preservation

Keeper of the Flame

Even as he forged a unified state, Kamehameha stood as a staunch protector of Hawaiian culture. He championed the rituals and traditions of his people, ensuring that their spiritual and social fabric was not eroded by the tides of change.

Institutional Support: Kamehameha established schools that taught traditional Hawaiian crafts, music, and chants, thus ensuring that these practices were not just preserved but integrated into the daily life of his people.

Kamehameha’s Heirs: Sustaining the Kingdom

The Legacy of Leadership

Kamehameha's foresight in leadership extended to his succession planning. Understanding the importance of a stable transition, he carefully prepared his heirs to take over the kingdom, ensuring that his vision for a unified Hawaii would endure beyond his lifetime.

Education and Preparation: He invested in the education of his sons and nephews, ensuring they understood not only the mechanics of governance but also the responsibilities of leadership. This preparation helped sustain the kingdom's stability and prosperity long after his death.

The Monarch’s Lasting Echo

King Kamehameha’s passing was marked by an outpouring of grief, reflecting the deep connection he had forged with his people. His legacy, however, continued to shape Hawaii, inspiring a resurgence in Hawaiian cultural pride and autonomy. Today, his vision reminds us of the power of leadership and the enduring impact of a unified national spirit.

RESEARCH & RESOURCES:

The Napoleon of the Pacific by Herbert Henry Gowen (1919)
An Account of the Polynesian Race: Its Origins and Migrations, and the Ancient History of the Hawaiian People to the Times of Kamehameha I, by Abraham Fornander and John G. Stokes (1878)
History of the Hawaiian Islands by James Jackson Jarves (1843)
Volcano Watch — 1790 was a bad year at Kīlauea, usgs.gov, 08/12/2021
Ruling Chiefs of Hawaiʻi Revised Edition by Samuel Kamakau (1961)
The historic town of Lahaina, and its legacy, is in ashes, nytimes.com, 08/12/2023
How to kill a god: The myth of Captain Cook shows how the heroes of empire will fall, thegaurdian.com, 01/18/2022
Transforming Hawai‘i: Balancing Coercion and Consent in Eighteenth-Century Kānaka Maoli Statecraft, jstor.org, (2018)
A Brief History Of Sexual Identity In Hawaii, buzzfeed.com, 11/12/2013

Let me ask you, when you hear Hawaii, what do you envision? Palm fringed beaches, all inclusive resorts, golden sands and crystal blue waters, tiki bars, hula dances, maybe even tropical breezes. Now you wouldn't be wrong, but it's not the whole story. Today, we're going to go beyond the postcards, beyond the cliches to meet the warrior king.
who united the islands, King Kamehameha the Great. But before we get into the history of King Kamehameha the Great, let me begin with a more recent story. I want you to picture this. It's 2008 in the heart of Honolulu and an angry crowd is gathering in front of a grand architectural marvel, the Ayalani Palace. And here's a fun fact, it is the.
only former royal palace on American soil. Its Corinthian columns rise like mighty palms, its broad lanai's overlook royal grounds shaded by century -old trees, its real interior still echo with the strains of real gatherings and solemn state affairs. And this crowd has gathered there to call for the sovereignty of the Hawaiian Islands. Why, you ask? Well, there's some things you have to know. The
Hawaiian islands were annexed by the United States in 1898, not through a mutual agreement, but in a contentious move. The paradise we know today as the 50th state of the US didn't officially become a state until 1959. More than 60 years after annexation, that's how contentious it was. And this history of forced annexation has always been a contentious matter and that's
why many native Hawaiians today continue to fight for their sovereignty, tracing their stand to King Kamehameha the Great. So today, let's embark on a journey in the footsteps of King Kamehameha, the warrior king, a visionary leader who, in a series of bold and unexpected moves, brought together the eight major islands of the Hawaiian archipelago under one rule. It is one of the most interesting and fascinating cultures that I've been able to study.
and this story of Kamehameha as a story that transcends mere conquest, it's a tale woven with the threads of power and ritual and community.
and strategic alliances yet. At the heart of Kamehameha's legacy lies an enduring peace, one marked by wisdom and cultural preservation, and a unity that has been both resilient and persistently fragile. And if you remember nothing else from this story, remember this. King Kamehameha's reign laid the foundations of modern Hawaii.
and his indomitable spirit continues to resonate through the islands, a testament to the complex and nuanced tapestry of Polynesian history and identity. As we venture into the life of King Kamehameha, a figure that embodies the spirit and the strength and the wisdom of the Hawaiian people, you and I are embarking on a journey that is not without its controversies.
And now let's pause for a moment because there's something we need to dig into here. Something that's more than just a footnote in the story. I want to go back real quick to this wound, to the scar on the soul of Hawaii. And it just can't be ignored. This illegal occupation by the United States. Let's just dig just a little bit more into that. Do some more building here because I am making the assumption that you are alien to any knowledge of Hawaii or its history. Let's talk more about this.
living, breathing controversy that reverberates in the hearts of Hawaiians to this day. Are you with me now? Let's take a step back and look at how the Hawaiian kingdom and internationally recognized sovereign nation was overthrown. The meddling of foreign interests, the undermining of a culture and a people. This isn't just history. It's an injustice that resonates. Think about it. Imagine having your land in your home taken away from you under the shadow of gunpoint.
tell you the story. It's the late 19th century in Hawaii is an independent kingdom, lush and sovereign, but American businessmen, sugar bands mostly have their eyes set on this prize. They want Hawaii's resources and strategic location, but they can't just snatch it up. So they get creative. In 1893, they orchestrate a coup aided and abetted by US minister John L. Stevens and a contingent of US Marines, Queen Luleo Okulani,
Seeing the armed forces at her doorstep, she opts for peace over bloodshed and temporarily relinquishes her throne under protest. She believes that the U .S. government will do the right thing and restore her to power. But the plot thickens. Despite President Cleveland's attempt to reinstate the Queen, Congress has other plans. So in 1898, amidst the fervor of the Spanish -American War and the allure of Manifest Destiny,
Hawaii is annexed through a joint resolution bypassing the usual treaty requirements and ignoring the will of the native Hawaiians. And just like that, the independent kingdom becomes an American territory, not through mutual agreement or international law, through force and a cocktail of greed, manipulation and geopolitical strategy. That's what happened here. And so I want you to understand this, this occupation of.
Hawaii is not this bygone event. It's a festering wound and it's a chapter in history that has never been closed. And it's a struggle for recognition and reparations and for justice and for the right to tell one's own story. And the story of King Kamehameha is more than, than a tale of a great leader. It's a symbol of a people's dignity, of their identity, of their unbroken connection to their land. And that my friends, I think is something worth fighting for. As I was putting together this episode, I thought about what we lose when we go then from
oral indigenous histories to those same stories being told through the western lands. You and I were explorers, we're navigators, and we're trying to reach the essence of a story that's not just historical but deeply personal to an entire people and in this quest, I had inherent challenges. My pronunciations of names and places may falter, nuances might escape my grasp, cultural insights,
could remain just beyond my reach. Even then when stories pass from one culture to another, from one heart and mind to another, they lose something. That's an unavoidable truth. Think about it like this. It's like trying to capture the full essence of a symphony in a single note or the vastness of the ocean in a wave. We're gonna lose something in this process. But also remember that waves are part of the ocean. So in this telling and retelling,
and seeking to understand, we gain something too. We connect not just with the past, but with each other and with our shared humanity. And that is what our attempt is here in this Humanity Archive project.
So imperfect as it may be, let's move forward with this story. And by the way, I put this episode together in August of 2023 and real time events underscore the vitality of this history. Wildfires and Lahaina fan by Hurricane Dora have destroyed some of the oldest buildings in that city. And this is where King Kamehameha, the great once made the capital of the Hawaiian kingdom.
The same place saw its people diving into the ocean to escape the flames. A vivid reminder that the past is always present, that our history continues to shape our lives and that the place where Kamehameha the Great once ruled still bears the marks of his legacy. Now let's zoom out a bit. The Hawaiian archipelago is a breathtaking ensemble of eight main islands spanning an area of 6 ,000.
424 square miles if you count the uninhabited islands, islets and atolls, and this is where the story of King Kamehameha the Great unfolds. In Hawaii is a tapestry of natural beauty sculpted by the hand of time. It's a land crafted by molten lava. Volcanoes rise and fall there, ever -changing landscapes abound that resonate with the heartbeat of the earth, from bogs to rainforests to coastal shrubs, the
Original inhabitants are thought to have come from the Marquises Islands, and these farmers and fishermen were explorers. Traversing the ocean as early as 1200 BCE, Polynesian oral history attests to a second -plan migration around the 6th century, where voyagers traveled up Tahiti in double -hulled canoes 80 to 100 feet long with mast and large triangular sails.
Now you really gotta wrap your mind around this idea of maritime people and island dwelling cultures like the Polynesians or maybe even the Vikings. They're not just people living near water, they're people who could just walk outside and see the ocean as their front yard. See the sea as their grocery store, their highway and their mythological playground. Just imagine that your entire world is framed by the endless horizon of the sea.
Now you think they'd be isolated, right? They'd be cut off. But here's the kicker. These people are the original globalists, the OG explorers. They hop on boats and suddenly they're the FedEx of culture, the Amazon Prime of ancient trade routes. So the Polynesians, these aren't just island hoppers. These are astronauts of the ocean navigating by stars and swells and seabirds. They're connecting dots across the Pacific long before GPS and Google Maps.
And here's the weird, almost poetic part. They're both isolated and connected, both the keepers of unique, untainted cultures and the couriers of global exchange. It's a paradox, a beautiful mind -bending paradox. They're like the neurons of the Earth's geography, firing signals across oceanic synapses, making the world just a little bit smaller, a little more known every time they set sail. So the next time you think about island dwelling,
Maritime communities don't just picture a fisherman casting a net, picture a web of connections, intricate, complex and ancient stretching across the blue expanse of our planet's lifeblood, the ocean. But now let's zoom out even more, pull the camera back and what do we see? We see again these volcanic islands born from the Earth's fiery rays jutting out like the jagged teeth of some cosmic beast from the depths of the Pacific.
Hawaiian Islands didn't just appear, they were forged in the crucible of geological violence, a testament to the Earth's ever -changing, ever -dramatic nature. Now enter Kamehameha I, a ruler in a land where the ground beneath your feet could, at any moment, decide to reenact its own explosive birth. We're talking about a place where the goddess of fire,
Pele isn't just a myth, people believe that she's a living goddess of fire, creator of the islands, a living force that can manifest her wrath in a plume of ash in a river of molten rock. Take the 1790 eruption of Kilo -Ea. This isn't just a geological event, it's a cosmic drama, a clash of elements. We can't take nature out of the story at all. During this eruption, ash clouds billow like the smoke of a battlefield and the roars of
The eruption are the battle cries of the earth itself. And here's where it gets dark, almost Shakespearean in its tragedy. We're talking about 400 lives lost in this 1790 eruption, not just as statistics, but stories frozen in time, people frozen in time, picture bodies found in the aftermath, some clutching their loved ones as if their final act was an attempt to shield them from the apocalypse. And think about this, the heat was so intense that it froze them in their final moments like
statues in a garden of despair, and then you've got ballistic blocks that shoot out of these volcanoes the size of a grown man hurled half a mile from the eruption site. You can still find them there. Keaua, chief of the Puna district, leading a band of 250 Hawaiian warriors across this summit of Kilauea. They're not out for a Sunday stroll. They're marching to face off against Kamehameha's army. And as they're marching,
They get caught in what can only be described as nature's own weapon of mass destruction, this high velocity explosion cloud, a torrent of volcanic steam and gases hot enough to sear your lungs from the inside out and it does. And about 80 of these warriors suffocate, their lungs scorched by the earth's breath. This is seen as a sign by the gods in favor of Kamehameha. There's even more to this story. The survivors leave behind their foot.
in the muddy ash like eerie echoes of a battle that never happened. And these footprints are still there by the way, frozen in time, you can go see them right now. It's like a grim hiking trail. So when you think about these island dwelling communities, you've got to see the whole picture. Got to see fishermen and warriors and gods and goddesses and creation and instruction and nature. And all of this is dancing on a stage set by the earth's most primal forces.
This is a cosmic drama where humans and gods and the earth itself are characters in a story that's still being written. And speaking of gods, a dominating feature in this story is the spiritual beliefs and the divine power and the rights, the deities and rituals of the Hawaiian people. In the West, we're used to this monotheistic model, right? One God over seeing everything like a celestial CEO, but in Hawaii, it's a divine democracy.
a pantheon where gods are as numerous as the stars. You got Kane, the god of creation, sitting atop like the chairman of the board. Then there's Lono handling everything from clouds to agriculture. Then there's Ku, the god of war and the rising sun. But then there's tens of thousands more. In fact, you see in polytheism, divinity is everywhere. It's in the ant crawling on the ground. It's in the Oia.
the trees that are believed to cry out in pain when cut. There are the Omakua, the middle managers in this divine corporation, if you will, but let's be serious. These gods are not just characters in a story. They are part of the fabric of Hawaii, deeply embedded in the land and in the seeds. The Hawaiians, these gods were not remote or abstract. They're present in the...
tangible elements of the world in the crashing of a wave and the eruption of a volcano and the rustle of a forest. Every fishing expedition was a negotiation with the gods, every harvest, a blessing in every battle, a calculation of spiritual forces. The gods represented natural phenomena. Yes, but they were also bound up in the social and moral order. Disrespecting them wasn't merely bad luck. It was an ethical and social transgression that could have dire consequences for the community.
These gods are not figures of the past. They continue to hold significant spiritual and cultural value today for Native Hawaiians. Engaging with these gods is engaging with their own sense of identity and place in history. It's also a way of acknowledging the expertise and wisdom embedded in generations of tradition.
In Western thought, the boundary between the sacred and the secular, the divine and the mundane is often rigid, but in the Hawaiian cosmology, that boundary is porous. Warriors did not just fight with physical weapons, but also with oli, chants, or pule, prayers, channeling the divine into the human realm.
So in the face of volcanic eruptions or cataclysmic battles, the boundary between human and divine didn't just blur and dissolve. Humans were not mere spectators in a cosmic drama, but active participants influencing and influenced by gods and natural forces alike.
Now let's pivot to the human side of the story again, Polynesian society. Now we have to be honest, this isn't just some egalitarian utopia. It's stratified. Take the kawa, for example. These are the untouchables of Hawaii living on reservations like the Native Americans, but in a tropical paradise, a dark twist, isn't it? And get this, they are the go -to class for
human sacrifices. I think it is important to add some nuance to this to ensure that we talk about the cultural and spiritual context. Sacrifices in Hawaiian society weren't seen as acts of savagery. They were seen as deeply spiritual practices rooted in a broader cosmological view. They elevated spiritual power and were aimed at honoring gods and ancestors, but...
It's still hard to wrap your mind around human sacrifices, isn't it?
That grim lottery where the most vulnerable are always picked. It's not just the Hawaiian thing. The Celts did it, the Romans, they did it. Well, eventually they found human sacrifice to be terrible and abhorrent and then they switched over to ritual killing. But of course, most people know about the Aztecs who did it.
And we might think that we are very far removed from that, but in our society, even our executions often target the marginalized. It's like society has this dark underbelly, a shadow that we just can't seem to escape no matter how much we claim to have evolved. So the kawa, again, they're separated, they're segregated, they're forbidden from marrying outside their class. And if a child was,
born from a union with a commoner or a chief and a cow, then that child was dashed against a rock. No culture has a monopoly on horrible practices and behaviors. It's definitely a dark thread. Now let's dig a little deeper into this class system because you also have the Makai Inana, the backbone of the islands. This is the working class. These people are...
Similar to serfs in medieval Europe, the social system is set up like feudalism. And so you have to remember that in that system, your life is not entirely your own. So you have to picture this working class and you've got this plot of land, right? But this land is not a gift. It's more like a lease from your chief who's acting as a landlord. And you're not just tilling the soil and enjoying the fruits of your labor. You are forking over up to two thirds of everything you produce.
That's like working from January to August and handing all that income straight to your boss. There was the saying that the chief is a shark on land to be denied nothing. And then you're also obligated to work six days a month on whatever projects that the chief has. We're talking about manual labor, construction, even military service. If things get violent.
So there's this mandatory community service.
And then there's something called kapa. It's a bark cloth that is very close to currency in Hawaiian society. So you're also doling out like 20 pieces of this stuff along with a menagerie of tribute items when the time comes.
dogs, pigs, pickled and raw fish, vegetables, chickens, baskets, mats, nets, cloth, timber, canoes. Even if a chief wanted your wife, then the chief was taking your wife. Nothing was to be denied the chief. This is absolute power we're talking about. And war is happening, often driven by control over land and resources. This was a stark reality, conflicts erupted over.
Everything from water rights to agricultural lands to fishing grounds and control of sacred sites. Some fall for honor. Others fall for power. But we also have to realize that there was family, there was community. There are a lot of deep philosophical concepts in terms of tending the land, in terms of people caring for one another. And then leisure had its place too. Imagine the Ali 'i. These are the high chiefs. This is the royal class. This is the...
Eliten, they had this game where they would race narrow wooden slides down mountainsides on paths up to 4 ,000 feet long, covered in dirt and wet grass. The one who goes the farthest is the winner. Kind of like a mix of bobsledding in a royal procession. And what we're really getting at here is, and exploring is the culture, right? I know that word gets thrown around a lot.
but we're talking about everything from the ways of life to the food to the clothing, the philosophy. And consider the differences between cultures. Consider for instance pork, do a compare and contrast. In ancient Hawaiian rituals, pork symbolized the demigod Kamapua, half man, half pig. So eating pork then was believed to bestow divine power or mana upon the consumer.
Now, contrast this with Islamic beliefs where pork is considered impure and its consumption is strictly forbidden. So what is divine to one group might be foul to another, might be unclean to another, might be devilish to another. To remind her that there is no single way to view the world. There is no one perspective. We see things not as they are, but as we are.
Not gonna be here all day, just meandering through all these fascinating cultural elements, exploring the nuances of human diversity and Hawaiian culture. But I want to share with you just a few more things I found enthralling, things that are gonna keep helping us to build this world before we really dive deep into what I would call the second part of this. We're really gonna tell the story of the life of Kamehameha. But I really want you to know more about the world that he.
lives in and I hope that you're able to start to get this picture of the Hawaiian islands in your mind.
So let's talk then about the arts, music and dance, for instance, they weren't just for Saturday nights. They were a way to preserve history, to honor the gods and express every human emotion from love to grief. In terms of dress, we had the mallow for men and the powwow for women. And this isn't just Island Chic. This is a masterclass in environmental awareness. You won't find any fur coats or button ups, just practical elegance tailor -made for Island life.
Think too about cultural differences, right? Like in America, in the Western society, a woman couldn't walk around shirtless with her breast out without getting harassed, without getting accosted, without drawing some sort of sexual energy from men. It just really would not happen, but you have these Island cultures who are used to living in this heat.
and where women and men can walk around with their shirts off, totally normal, no stigma, no taboo. So it's just very interesting to compare and contrast cultures if we actually broaden our lens and take the religious worldview off of things or the deep seated philosophical views that we often have that are ingrained within us and just try our best to look at things from different perspectives and.
You think in a society too, as intricate as that of Hawaii, even the most ordinary activities, like where you sleep or what you eat carry profound cultural and spiritual significance, just like in our culture. In terms of relationship, there was a phrase, it was called sleeping here and there, and this was a nuanced way of acknowledging the fluid nature of romantic and sexual relationships and start contrast again with the rigid binaries often assumed by Western perspectives.
Then you had Aikai -poo. This was the sacred eating ritual. It wasn't just about separating genders because women and men ate separately, but it was rooted in a belief system that honored the different realms of influence and power for men and women, respecting each in their own domain, the masculine and the feminine. And while some foods were designated as off limits for women, this wasn't just a simple act of exclusion, but a deep rooted homage to certain male deities and the cosmic balance.
Get this though, the Hawaiian approach to gender and relationships was fluid long before these contemporary debates made this topic an issue. Their acceptance of the mahu, these were individuals embodying both male and female traits. These challenges are modern day preoccupations with gender binaries. Similarly, their open attitude towards all different forms of relationships, be it homosexuality, polygamy, or polyamory, acknowledges the complexity
of human emotions and connections. But then here comes the stern Calvinist preachers, damning everything that doesn't fit into their worldview. And this kind of ethnocentrism has historically wreaked havoc on indigenous cultures, reducing complex belief systems to quote unquote savage practices in need of quote unquote civilizing. Case in point, I'll read you a excerpt from the writing of
Reverend Charles Stewart, who in 1823 had his own choice words about the Hawaiian people. He said quote, their naked figures and wild expression of countenance, their black hair streaming in the wind as they hurried the canoe over the water with all the eager action and muscular power of savages. Their rapid and unintelligible exclamations and whole exhibition of uncivilized character gave to them the appearance of being half man, half beast unquote.
Stewart's words paint the Hawaiians as almost subhuman, stripping them of their complexity and reducing them to caricatures. It's a disconcerting and racist view that showcases not just ignorance, but a deep misunderstanding of a culture that was rich and multifaceted. By defining the indigenous Hawaiian people through his narrow and prejudiced lens, Stewart not only dehumanized them,
but also failed to appreciate the wisdom and the complexity and the humanity that was integral to Hawaiian society. So what can we take from this? What can we learn as archivers of humanity? Well, the Hawaiians understood something about embracing human diversity, about legitimizing natural human behavior, about communing with nature and respecting it. And it's a lesson perhaps that
resonates in our own time and our own struggles with social norms and struggles with gender. They were an ocean away from the rest of the world, but maybe they were centuries ahead in understanding that the human condition isn't about rigid lines, but about those currents that flow in between them. So wrapping up this tour of the social strata of Hawaii, we get to the VIPs of the island, the Ali 'i.
They stood tall, literally they stood taller than the rest of the populace. Like they were stretched by the gods, their height a divine gift. They don garments that were the epitome of elegance and sophistication on the island woven with intricate patterns, with thousands of feathers that told stories older than themselves. These weren't just clothes, they were tapestries of history. Their homes were not mere structures, but sanctuaries adorned with the
Best Craftsmanship.
The canoes they sell were not just vessels but like floating palaces, each plank car with the wisdom of generations and their weapons. They had something called the Leomano. These weren't just tools of war but extensions of their divine right to rule dominion over the land crafted from the fearsome teeth of tiger sharks. Now imagine the allure of this elite class. They're...
beauty not just skin deep but etched into their very bones. Tattoos were very common in Hawaii. Each marking different meaning in someone's life journey. This was what was seen as beautiful. So now that we've set the scene, we've been through some highs and some lows and I think what really stands out is how deeply the Hawaiians were connected to their land and their identity.
They weren't just living on these islands. They were a part of them. And then we come to that part of our story where we truly introduce Kamehameha and we have to introduce him with this concept of, of mana.
It's not merely a word, it's a spiritual force, it's a cosmic currency, a vitality that flows through the very fabric of existence. To have mana is to possess a kind of authority, a power, and a prestige that transcends the mundane and touches the divine. And on the islands that we now call the state of Hawaii, the echoes of mana resonate through the legacy of a man set apart from birth. Kamehameha, the great meaning.
Literally quote, the one who is set apart. His destiny is etched in the heavens and foretold by the prophets. His birth date is highly disputed among historians, but it is said that he was born at the time of Haley's Comet. Comets being huge chunks of ice and meteoric dust that pass by the earth every 75 years.
which would place his birth in the winter of 1748. Some say the stars themselves whispered of the birth of a powerful King. His mother, Kiku Ayu Pauiwa, or Kiku, was a high chiefess of Maui and his father, High Chief Kiyowa of Kona. Kamehameha's lineage was one of royalty, divinity and war, and the blood of two high chiefs then.
coursing through his veins, each endowed with considerable mana and their own right. This was not a power confined to mere inheritance, it was augmented through heroics, through courage, and often through battle, battles that weren't just about conquest but about acquiring more mana. The Light Force did define leadership and wisdom and strength, and so we go to 1758 when
Kamehameha's life began as someone destined to shape a kingdom. His birth was foreseen by a wise kahuna or seer who whispered to the mother, High Chiefess Kiku, that her son would rise and one day he would conquer all rival chiefs. But destiny's path is rarely smooth and fear of the prophecy led an uncle, King Alapa -Anui, a ruler of Helo,
plot the infant's murder. His fears told him that this child, a future warrior, would one day seize his rule. And so, fate then has other designs.
Naoli, a chief of Cahola loyal to Kamehameha's father, escaped with the child, shielding him from the wrath of the king's men. So Kamehameha is hidden in this basket and he remains undiscovered, even if searchers scoured the land for him. And then when the threat receded, he is speeded away to a tranquil valley to grow until the age of five.
Eventually another uncle took the boy to his court and he was christened Kamehameha, the lonely one. A fitting name for one who spent his early years in seclusion and said that he was a quiet child, thoughtful, but shy. Now hold onto your seats for one moment, cause we're going to dive deeper into Kamehameha's life. But first we've got to make a little detour and talk about this Captain Cook.
And trust me, this isn't some random tangent. It's essential to the story. Cook's arrival wasn't just a meet and greet. It was a clash of cultures, a collision of worlds that would forever change Hawaiian history. Captain Cook is this famous European explorer who first touched down on the shores of Hawaii in 1778. And he arrives at a moment ripe with significance.
The festival of Lono was in full swing and Cook's appearance was viewed as a divine intervention. You see the islanders in their reverence and curiosity treated him as a deity. In Hawaiian religion, the god Lono was associated with fertility, agriculture and rainfall and music and peace. And the emblem of Lono is crosswood and kapa. Remember that's the cloth. And that had an uncanny resemblance to Cook's sale. So,
The Islanders related the white skin of Europeans to the whiteness of the moon and the stars, and they thought they were gods. And a quote from the Guardian recollects Cook's arrival and the reaction of the Hawaiian people, it says, quote, the men hurried to the ship to see the God with their own eyes. There they saw a fair man with bright eyes, a high bridged nose, light hair and handsome features. Good looking gods they were.
An elderly, emaciated priest went on board the resolution and led the deities ashore. Thousands fell to their knees as Cook passed by. The priest led the captain to a thatched temple, wrapped Cook in a red cloth, and sacrificed a small pig to him. As the people recited lines from the Hawaii epic, Kumalipu, a Croatian myth." Captain James Cook, this iconic figure of exploration, was a man of contradictions. On the one hand, he's this brilliant cartographer.
sailing into the unknown on the other, a man grappling with the demons, some say of Neurocyphalus and causes everything from grandiosity to paranoia. So Cook and his crew didn't just come for exploration. They came and they acted like conquerors in paradise. They tore down a temple and used its sacred wood for fires and turned the palace into their personal observatory.
but on this hedonistic spree. But these so -called gods abused their divine status, leaving scars on both the land and its people. In some accounts, Cookie is shown to have a conscience. He faced several mutinies when he discovered people were getting sick from his crew and he confined them to the ship because he didn't want to spread it. Eventually, Cook sails away, but fate's a funny thing because a storm hits, forcing him to turn his back. And he anchors again,
But the welcome mat's been pulled. The islanders are suspicious. Why are these strange men back? Why are the gods back? They wonder. Why is their leader so erratic? So when one of Cook's crew dies, the godly facade shatters. The islanders see them for what they are. Mortal men.
And then Cook makes his fatal mistake, angered over a stolen boat, he attempts to kidnap King Kalani O 'Poo. Bad move. The beast transforms into a war zone. Warriors descend armed with iron daggers and clubs and Cook meets his end. His body undergoes a ritual dismemberment stripped down to what the islanders considered the essence of the man. Only his hands and his buttocks. A return to his crew, a grim token.
of a fallen god.
The British response was violent, canons roaring in vengeance and claiming 30 islander lives, and Cook's image then, in history, is whitewashed, heroized in the West. He's portrayed as a martyr for science rather than a deeply -fought individual. So in the wake of Cook's quote -unquote discoveries, the Pacific peoples were dispossessed and decimated, their numbers reduced dramatically by disease that he introduced.
In the wake of Captain Cook's arrival, a new wave of change washed over Hawaii. It was a time when the landscape was shifting with foreign powers seeking to exert their influence over the islands. Calvinist missionaries steeped in their belief of their own spiritual superiority. Their arrival signaled an era of European encroachment, bringing with them not just a different set of values, but also those diseases that we hear about so much that ravage the land.
And the grand chessboard of history, we compare Hawaii's rapid transition from different sovereign nations to one central government under Kamehameha and eventually to a U S state was much less of a bloodbath than you got in North and South America. And that's not to say there wasn't blood, but that's just to say that Hawaii was co -opted through more insidious means.
The Huayen monarchs, seduced by the pomp and circumstance of British royalty, were lured into a web of debt and contractual obligations. This was a calculated theft over years, cloaked in diplomacy and solidified through marriages. It was into this world that Kamehameha was thrust a ruler by birthright. He found himself dealing with foreigners from different corners of the globe, speaking unfamiliar languages.
and often possessing intentions that were anything but honorable. The new era was marked by the complex interplay of different cultures where whiteness was seen as a symbol of authority and the clash of values created a rapidly changing environment. But Kamehameha was no ordinary leader. He was a man whose innate wisdom and common sense allowed him to navigate these treacherous waters. Other chiefs in his kingdom often opposed him, their objectives differing.
from his own, but Kamehameha's leadership qualities saw him through all of these difficult times. Now, before Kamehameha came to power, the Hawaiian islands were a fractured realm marked by divisions and differences with a patchwork of polities and nations being presided over by high chiefs. And so what led to this fragmentation? Well, picture the islands with their diverse landscapes.
From lush valleys to airplanes, from towering mountains to serene beaches, the ecological diversity was a blessing and a challenge. Imagine yourself a high chief commanding over your land, mindful of the resources that fuel your power, yet constrained by the very geography that defines your realm. So the land that you lived on determined how much agriculture you could produce, the population distribution, how you could communicate it.
dictated who you were and who you could be.
So consider the plight of the warrior dependent on the land for sustenance bound by the whims of the terrain. And an army had to navigate not just enemy forces, but the very land itself. So there's urgency in the air, depending on your resources to fight your neighbor for them and your neighbor to defend themselves. And then from that you get these bitter rivalries and
Vengeance and you know how it goes back and forth, right? Stuff lasts for generations. And these islands had, of course, their similarities, a lot of similarities, but each one had different traditions and songs and every polity again has this distinct flavor. And here comes Kamehameha, a child foretold to be a unifier. He's gonna bring all this together. It's never been done before. And we talked about his prophesized birth, this prediction.
So his uncle has a change of heart. Initially, he had seen Kamehameha as a potential threat rival to his own son. But as the years rolled on, he recognized Kamehameha's potential, recognized his unmistakable mana. So born into royalty, exiled for several years, but then returning to the royal court of his uncle, Kamehameha was groomed in the ways of the Alii.
So he's learning, he's learning, he's learning. It's a blend of education and warfare. There was also time for fishing and surfing. Just thinking back to some of those cultural elements. Now, we often think of surfing as some form of entertainment for white beach goers, but the truth is surfing was an indigenous art form. Polynesian tradition, cave paintings from the 12th century depict people riding waves on.
Koa boards, a testament to the rich heritage. So Kamehameha is doing all this. He's learning how to rule, how to fight, wrestling and paddling and boxing and throwing spears and handling heavy stones with slings, all of these rituals. And also paying homage to the gods and ancestors. And then we come to the Naha stones.
you to picture this hulking 7 ,000 pound volcanic rock sitting there right now in front of the Hilo Public Library. Now this isn't just any rock. This is like Hawaii's up caliber, if you will. Anyone who flips this proves that they're worthy, that they're chosen, that they are destined to unify all of Hawaii and no one had ever done this before. So I know this sounds like something out of a
Marvel movie, but this isn't just a trope. We can go back to so many cultures and explore their myths and they have a story like this. So Kamehameha is this young man now and he's towering figuratively and literally. And now the accounts are fuzzy, but around 14 or 17 years old, Kamehameha does the unthinkable. He walks up to this behemoth of a rock and he flips it over. And this act is revealed by the -
Hawaiian language newspaper Hoku o Hawaii in 1915 really brings home the magnitude of how this would be a touchstone for Kamehameha. It says, quote, it became something to always encourage Kamehameha thereafter. And during heated battles on the battlefields to come, the moving and overturning of the Naha stone was always in the fore of his memories. And it was something that always bolstered his thoughts thereafter. There's something intensely human about this story. Young,
prints a heavy stone of folklore and history that transcends geography. Kamehameha began a war then of conquest that would forever out to the landscape of Hawaii, uniting these major kingdoms and districts. So he starts fighting and defeating his rivals, starting this campaign to unite the islands. In the book Shoal of Time, it said that he was quote, tall and physically fearless and move with an aura of violence.
He goes on to say when he was a young man, he already had a considerable notoriety and he paraded it within imperiousness that matched and even exceeded his rank as high chief, unquote. It said that Kamehameha was over seven feet tall and we know that he had the habit of having his warriors hide and wait for him as he took his walks up and down the hillsides and he would instruct them to hurl spears at him of which he would expertly dodge and deflect. This was just a hobby for him. And so just to...
wrap your mind around his athleticism. It said that he was doing this into his sixties. Other reports say he was good natured and he was said to be the most handsome and highly sought after of chiefs receiving gifts and favors from the chief assist who sought him as a lover. And so in the heart of the Pacific and this world where revolution and new beginnings are coming forth, Hawaii was on the cusp of its own change. The year.
Then in 1791, and Kamehameha stands at the crossroads of tradition and modernity.
You have to think around this time, the French revolution is rewriting the social contract in Europe and the United States is taking its first steps as a fledgling nation. And here you have Kamehameha is about to employ Western artillery in traditional Hawaiian warfare. The old world and the new are colliding and it's not in a handshake, but a clash of swords and the boom of cannons. Yes, those cannons, they were more than weapons.
They were harbingers of a new era. Kamehameha knew that to resist this tidal wave of change was to court defeat. So he embraced it. He weaponized it. He used it to forge a kingdom. And let's pause here and consider the cost. The very act of using Western artillery in a Hawaiian context was a concession that the old ways were no longer sufficient. And we can get a glimpse of the old ways of war from teacher and writer Susanna Moore who...
wrote this fascinating book called Paradise of the Pacific, she says, quote, the rules and etiquette of combat were as formalized as those in any medieval European court. Competitions and entertainments, not unlike jousting, were used to further fighting skills, to win admiration and honor, and to encourage the sometimes vicious rivalries essential to upholding morale during battle. All fighting was done in daylight and in a very methodical fashion.
the play style of fighting and the time often determined before the battle. Those chiefs who resorted to less predictable tactics such as night raids and surprise attacks and later guns had a clear advantage. The armies arrayed in crescent formation met on open ground although one warrior could be chosen to fight from each side while the two armies watched nearby.
Fighting, whether between an army or two chiefs, was limited to brutal hand -to -hand combat using slings, spears, clubs, and javelins. Once joined, the grappling fighters were limited to choking, stabbing, and clubbing. Men wore as little clothing as possible. Chiefs wore their bright red, yellow, and black feather capes made in designs of fins, rainbows, sharks, and wings, flung over one bare shoulder, and crested wickerwork helmets onto which hundreds of feathers had been sewn.
To new men, often in squadrons of hundreds, wore foreboding gourd helmets decorated with ferns. No standing army was maintained, but each man kept his simple weapons ready in his house. Women frequently went to war beside men, carrying further weapons, carrying their food and water, tending to the wounded, but also joined the army.
And as the story goes on, Kamehameha captures a John Young, a sailor from the ship Eleanor. And this isn't just a twist of fate. It's a pivotal move that arms Kamehameha with cannons and the knowledge to use them. So with this newfound power, this is when he really sets into motion his conquests to unify the islands. So he sets his sights on Maui.
seeking not just a piece of the island, but its entirety. He gains an unlikely ally in Kea Waimea Wealy.
They form a rival and together they set out and they clash with the Mauian army at Wuliku River. A battle so fierce it earns the name, the damming of the waters. Imagine the horror of the local populace fleeing to the mountains as Kamehameha's cannons roar, turning the river into a gruesome dam of fallen warriors. The Mauian forces are decimated and Kamehameha, rather than
Installing new ruler sets his gaze upon another prize, Molokai, but then his ambitions are interrupted by a rival chief named Keo 'oa. Takes advantage of his absence from Hawaii and ravages his land. So the two engage in a series of battles, neither gaining a decisive victory. And just when it seems like the balance might be tipped, nature intervenes. And this is the story that we go back to in the beginning.
where Kilauea erupts, the volcano kills many of Khmehameha's rivals. And people started to think, wow, must be divine intervention. Khmehameha is chosen by the gods. Khmehameha launches a new offensive. He consults a prophet, builds a temple and prepares for another showdown. And there's more battles. Khmehameha's forces continue to prevail.
And this is where we see that Kamehameha is a man of contrast, a ruler who could be both brutal and just, a warrior who could be both ruthless and strategic, take his treatment of Keo 'oa, his rival turned ally, for instance. He invites him to a meeting only to have him killed the moment he sets foot on land. And it's a very Machiavellian move, isn't it? One that secures his rule, but at a deep moral cost. And yet can we judge him too harshly? I don't know. It was of engagement.
different perhaps he could have done something different but maybe he might not have lived to be the ruler that he was.
The climax comes in 1795 on the island of Oahu in a battle that seems like it's ripped from pages of an epic. Kamehameha drives his enemies over the rim of the Pu 'uaina volcano, punching them to their deaths. You can imagine the horror of bodies plunged into molten lava. Yet the understanding that the human body is mostly water.
and it would react violently to extreme heat so skin and muscle would incinerate almost instantly, leaving only charred remains and bones. War is always brutal, isn't it? And this death is as final as it is horrific. With the chiefdoms falling one by one, all eyes were set on the unconquered islands and Kamehameha, he takes them too. Finally, he conquers everything by 1810, and then something happens as warriors after...
These conflicts, they go into a fit of rage apparently and start attacking the villages of the vanquished, including their families. And this is a moment that'll echo in Hawaiian history because in an act of wisdom and compassion, Kamehameha proclaims this law of the splintered paddle.
And it's a decree that is born from his own life being spared. This is great warrior, right? The seven foot tall warrior. And he almost died at the hands of two humble fishermen earlier. And it taught him the value of sparing life. And this law says, Oh people honor thy God's respect. The rights of people, both great and humble see to it that our aged are women and our children lie down to sleep by the roadside without fear of harm, disobey and die.
Of course you get that last part, disobey and die, but it's the first time in the kingdom's history that the rights of the vulnerable and the weaker recognized. This law now part of the state's constitution became a beacon of human rights, a lesson in the responsibilities inherent in power. What a story, right? Complexities of power and the...
Ever -changing dynamics of leadership, the path to unity was fraught with rebellion and death and tactical decisions in the ever -present specter of failures. Yet Kamehameha navigated these challenges with a Machiavellian acumen, securing not just a kingdom, but a legacy that would echo through the pages of history. And as we exit stage left from the scene of war and island unification, the story does not quite end there. Coming to our final act, the early 1800s, where we see
the island undergoing seismic shifts. There's a transition from this feudal system to capitalism. And you think that will make things easier, right? Well, not so fast. This is a story where richness and poverty and tradition and modernity and gods and men collide and coalesce. So I want you to imagine Kamehameha, this ironclad ruler who united the islands. Now he's growing wealthy and living in grandeur and this opulent mansion. And it's all from sandalwood. It's the...
aromatic gold of the era. Sandalwood was a big deal, like really big. The Chinese craved it, for instance, and it has been deeply ingrained in Chinese cultural and religious systems. It's burning. It's said to be a sacred offering to the gods in China.
cultivating this stuff, let's not romanticize it, the work was backbreaking, we're talking about laboring under the scorching sun, sometimes freezing in the cold winters at night. This was at odds with the indigenous philosophy, Aina, the deep rooted relationship Hawaiians have with the land. Aina is not just soil or territory, it's a sacred bond imbued with life and mind of the spiritual
essence that flows through all things and the cultivation of sandalwood while laborious and exploitative under this new capitalist drive clash with this ancient understanding. So from an indigenous perspective, the land wasn't just a commodity to be harvested, but a living relative that demanded respect and reciprocity. So then you had Hawaiians then working in these dreadful conditions underfed, exploited.
And this is where you can see the pitfalls of capitalism, right? We can see it continuing to evolve as this global chain of economic pursuits that has this class of expendable people and expendable resources and then people's values become expendable. This obsession with consuming goods and goods flooding in from all over the world. And the Hawaiian elite aren't immune to it, they're attracted to the
silks and steel and iron and gold and soaps and tees and cottons and pearls and sugar and spices and fine clothing and also war became more expensive so ushered in a new era of peace and leisure. Kamehameha is holding court at his home and he's walking around in velveteen breeches and a red waistcoat now but I always add to this the cultural erosion right ceremonies like the hula which Hawaiians
held as a sacred dance. We talked about this a little earlier. It's now labeled as erotic. So with the introduction of Western ways of living and goods came the loss of so much Hawaiian culture, severing of spiritual and cultural lifelines. And just going back to the hula, again, this is more than a dance. It's a form of storytelling. It's a religious ceremony. It's a link to an ancestral past.
And so these disparaging views, stereotypes, cause people to start to drop these rituals. And then a lot of times you don't get that back. And so when the forest were destroyed and the sand award depleted, tallow and horses and hides were exported. And as his empire swelled, Soda Kamehameha's opulent taste, he again built this Western style mansion home and it's overlooking the sea. And so he's demonstrating his...
wealth and power to foreigners, but we have to imagine that for many Hawaiians, it sat awkwardly with their traditional notions of leadership because a leader's mana was not just measured by their wealth or military might, but also by their ability to care for their people and their land.
But Command Ma 'az's luxuries raised questions about whether he was fulfilling his roles as a responsible steward of both human and natural resources. But Command Ma 'az, continuing to live his life on his compound, where chiefs and chiefesses and warriors and priests and royal families and servants live with him,
There's foiled assassination attempts against Kamehameha. Sometimes it'll be a jealous partner because remember polygamy and power often breeds ambition and maybe you're a mother who wants your son to be next on the throne and not his brother.
death penalties handed out regularly for infractions. And then you also had these incestuous relationships within these royal families. I wanted to touch on that real quick. People marrying cousins and nieces and chiefesses having affairs with nephews. And this is because in a lot of royal families, in a lot of cultures, marrying within the family was often seen as concentrating power and maintaining the purity of the royal line. So,
power plays and rival houses and affairs of the state are all happening.
Kamehameha is growing old as this Western encroachment continues. And then 1819, Kamehameha dies. And it's not just the end of a singular life, but also the symbolic end of an era, a closing of one chapter and an opening of another, an ever evolving narrative of Hawaii. He was a living bridge between two worlds embodying the duality of tradition and change.
quote, you can seek out all the benefits I have given you and you will find them without number unquote, he murmured as his last breath. As if to remind the living that life itself is an unquantifiable gift, his passing unleashed a torrent of grief so profound that it transcended cultural boundaries.
A tidal wave of mourning rituals was unleashed from the sacrificial deaths of 500 dogs, the cutting and burning of flesh, the cultural expression of sorrow was so potent, it seemed to reverberate through the earth and the sky. And this was not just a Hawaiian mourning, but a human one.
One grief ritual was the knocking out of teeth. People would knock their teeth out and tattoo their tongues. There was also the mingling with strangers and uninhibited sex. It pointed to life's endless cycles of destruction and renewal. Even in death, Kamehameha's mana, his spiritual power, became a matter of intense intrigue. Where were his bones? The very framework that housed his soul, never found. There remained one of Hawaii's
Eternal mysteries, almost as if Kamehameha himself decided that his final resting place should remain unknown forever, keeping his mana, his spirit woven into the fabric of the islands he united. How do we take this story? How do we wrap this up? Well, in our rapidly globalizing world, it is a rare thing for a culture to hold on to its roots in the face of an avalanche of modern influence we see in Hawaii.
This everlasting tug of war between what was, what is, and what could be something invaluable was lost though, and Kamehameha died. Certain purity of tradition and the unity it fostered among the Hawaiian people. And the islands became this meeting place of global cultures. But today there's a resurgence of interest in preserving the best of the Hawaiian tradition from the rekindling of the hula and the native chance, the practice of celestial navigation and sustainable farming. New generations are rediscovering.
reclaiming their heritage, often juxtaposing it with the unavoidable forces of modernization. They hold onto that Aloha spirit, Aloha being this powerful word that summarizes the harmonic, respectful and affectionate interaction one should have with another person or with nature. It's a term that carries both spiritual and social weight in Hawaiian culture. And Kamehameha very much was a man of his time, but he...
also was a man for all times. The duality he embodied, the bridge he was, still stands, the islands he brought together are forever intertwined with his legacy, a legacy that thrives in the hearts and lives of Hawaiians today.
Even as waves of change continue to crash on Hawaiian shores, the footsteps of Kamehameha still echo, carrying forth the wisdom and courage of a leader who not only understood the world he came from, but also foresaw the one yet to come. It's a legacy that teaches us the enduring power of balance between what is lost and what is gained, between the past and the future, between the old ways and the new and so. The story of Kamehameha serves as an eternal testament to the
The beauty of human life, a tale forever woven into the sands and skies of Hawaii.

Jermaine Fowler